In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. (ESV)
Introduction:
Our hymns include many songs, in which we rejoice in our redemption: “Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. Redeemed by his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am.” Our redemption is one of the great themes of the Bible. It expresses our fallenness; it expresses God’s great love for us. To redeem, in the most simple of terms, is to buy something back.
In a word, redemption is the theme of the Bible. When God first made man, Adam belonged to God. But something happened: sin. And as a result of sin, Adam became estranged from God. God wanted Adam back. In the fullness of time, God redeemed Adam. And the story of Adam is the story of us all. When we first came into this world, we, in our innocence, belonged to God. But something happened; we sinned and became estranged from God. And in the fullness of time, God redeemed us. He bought us back to become his precious possession.
We see the theme of redemption throughout the pages of the Bible. We see it in the life’s story of Joseph. We see it in God’s deliverance of Israel from the land of Egypt. We see it in the laws that God gave to govern the people of Israel. We see it in the romance between Ruth and Boaz. Most of the time, in the Old Testament, redemption had to do with physical things. God redeemed his people from calamities encountered in life. It had to do mostly with property. But even in the Old Testament, there is seen a hint of redemption as being something more. God is seen as the Redeemer of Israel. Whenever Israel would get themselves into trouble, God would come to their rescue and deliver them. But Israel never just “got themselves in trouble”. Israel bought trouble with sin. As a nation, they traded their high and exalted position as God’s people for the momentary pleasure of sin. Just like Esau, she traded her birthright for a bowl of pottage. Sin was at the root of the problem.
In the New Testament, sin is still the root of the problem, but the problem is more severe than just an unpleasant circumstance in which we find ourselves. The stakes are eternal. Our eternal existence is in jeopardy. In the time that remains this evening, we want to unfold the passage of Ephesians 1:7-8 and explore the depths of God’s love for us in wanting to redeem us.
In Him
The first to words of our text describe for us the place where redemption may be found: in him; that is, in Christ. The concept of being in Christ is integral to the concept of redemption. Redemption is in Christ. If we are not in Christ, then we have not been redeemed. But, in Christ, we are redeemed.
Look at the first chapter of Ephesians for just a moment and notice how many times the expression “in him” or “in Christ” is found.
• He has blessed us in Christ (verse 3).
• He chose us before the foundation of the earth to be blameless in him (verse 4).
• In him we have redemption (verse 7).
• In him we have obtained an eternal inheritance (verse 11).
• In him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit (verse 13).
In all, the expressions “in him” or “in Christ” are found 22 times in the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. Since redemption is “In Christ”, it would behoove us to know how one gets into Christ. The expression “in Christ” is found 84 times in the New Testament, but only three times is the expression “into Christ” found. It is no coincidence that two of the three times the expression “into Christ” is found it is in connection to baptism. Romans 6:3 states, “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (ESV) and Galatians 3:27 tells us, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (ESV) So this much we know: that redemption is in Christ and we come into Christ through baptism.
Through His Blood.
When we go to the store to redeem a coupon, it doesn’t cost us very much; just the time of clipping the coupon from the paper or flyer that it appeared in. In fact, if you will examine a coupon, they usually have printed on them somewhere “Cash value 1/20 of one cent.” So, a coupon is basically worthless. Yet when we redeem the coupon we receive something of value; maybe 20 cents off or even a couple of dollars. That’s not such a bad deal. There are some people who are so good at clipping coupons and redeeming them, that they can get their entire grocery bill paid for by coupons.
I have never pawned anything in my life, but I understand that if you want to redeem an item which you have pawned, you have to pay back, not only what you received when you pawned the item, but you also have to pay a premium, maybe 20% additional, in order to redeem your item. I’m not convinced that it is a good idea to pawn things you intend to redeem. But it may be a good idea to try to redeem something that has been pawned because you weren’t thinking clearly. If you pawned your wife’s wedding ring to buy a bowling ball, it might be a good idea to redeem your wife’s ring.
The point is this: ordinarily, when we want to redeem something which we have lost, it doesn’t cost us all that much to redeem it. But when it came to redeeming us, it cost Christ his life. He gave his life, so that we could be redeemed. Hebrews 9:12 tells us that Christ “entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” (ESV) God did not just wave a magic wand or push a button on some cosmic control panel to secure our redemption. The price that he paid was the death of his Son. The next time you are tempted to sin, you remember what it cost God to redeem you.
We Have Redemption
The Forgiveness of our Trespasses
“In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our trespasses.” (ESV) Here we have a parallel phrase, so that we know that our redemption includes the forgiveness of our trespasses. When we use the word trespass today, it usually involves going onto someone else’s property without permission. Well, it’s not all that different regarding sin. There are some places God doesn’t want us to go. He’s posted the area clearly with large signs with plain block letters “NO TRESPASSING”. Perhaps the words that God chose are “Thou shalt not” but the message is just as clear.
God has put certain things off limits to us; this is his world, we are his creation, and he has every right to. Some things God has put off limits because those things are his job; things like judgment, vengeance, condemnation. Other things are off limits because they are dangerous or harmful to us. But either way, when we do what God has told us not to or fail to do what God has commanded we are trespassing against God. To trespass against God is just another way of saying that we have sinned against God.
The word of God tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). When we sin against God, what we deserve is death. But God, in his mercy, has redeemed us; he has forgiven our trespasses. But what else is included in this redemption?
Justification
Not only are our sins forgiven, but we are seen by God as though we had never sinned. The word that describes this is the word justification. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:23-24 ESV). We are justified through the redemption that is in Christ.
Redemption from the curse of the law
Galatians 3:13 tells us, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’" (ESV) The law had blessings for those who kept the law and curses, negative consequences, for those who violated the law. Because we have all violated the law we are under a curse. But Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the curse.
I want you to see how intricately God planned all things. When Christ was crucified, his accusers, by having him hung on a tree, were in effect proclaiming that Jesus was not the Messiah; that he was, in their opinion cursed by God because the law states in Deuteronomy 21:22-23 that “a hanged man is cursed by God.” (ESV) But the resurrection of Christ on the third day vindicates him from this vicious accusation against him. He redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Redemption from Lawlessness
Titus 2:14 tells us that Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (ESV) Sin is frequently described as a form of slavery. It becomes a vicious cycle from which it is impossible to escape. In many ways, sinners are addicts just looking for their next fix. But there is a way out. God redeems us from the power and pull of sin. We have this promise from God, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV). There is a way of escape, but we must seek it and take it. We can be free from the pull and power of sin over us.
Adoption as Sons
Galatians 4:5 tells us that we were redeemed “so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (ESV) Is not the love which God has for us great? He is like the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). In the parable, the son had insulted his father and left home where he wasted his possessions foolishly. Yet when he came to his senses he realized that it would be better to be a slave in his father’s house than to be a free pauper. As he returned home, his father was waiting for him, to welcome him back, not as a slave, nor a servant, but as a son.
When a couple wants to adopt a child, they realize that the child will be different from them. It will be from a different family, have different customs, different ways of doing things. So also is God different from us. We are of a completely different nature. He is holy and we are rebellious and difficult, to say the least. Yet he wants us for his own. He wants us to be part of his family. He longs for our adoption as sons.
Resurrection
In Romans 8:23, we find that it is not only our souls, but our bodies that will be redeemed. “And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (ESV)
When we die, our spirit leaves the body and returns to God (Ecclesiastes 12:7). But when the time is right, Christ will return to this world and the dead in Christ shall rise. And mortality will put on immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53).
The bodies that we have now are for a particular purpose, but they are not well suited to eternity. From the moment we are born, they start to wear out. Our immune system doesn’t protect us from every disease. Our cardiovascular system becomes overtaxed. Our nervous system deteriorates. Our muscles grow weak and our bones become brittle and eventually we just wear out. But God has prepared these souls of ours to live forever and he’s planned for us to receive new and improved bodies that will never wear out.
The Riches of His Grace which He Lavished Upon Us.
God has been so good to us. We deserve none of that which God has already blessed us; none of that which he has promised to bless us. God has not only been kind and merciful to poor wretched sinners, which we are; he has been extravagant. He doesn’t just cut us a little slack. He piles his favors up to the sky.
Jesus described the mercy of God as a great banquet offered by the king (Luke 14:12-24). A night out at the “Continental Bistro” or the finest restaurant which you can imagine will seem like picking through a garbage can for scraps compared to the feast which God has prepared. But, in the parable, those invited to this great banquet had other plans. So the master of the house cancelled their invitations and invited the crippled, the lame and the blind. You see, it is you and I who are crippled and blind and lame. It is we who have been invited to the King’s banquet. I like to eat, so I can relate to banquet metaphors. But it is not food that is displayed on the banquet table; it is God’s grace, in abundant supply.
With all Wisdom and Insight
In this world, a king who would invite the blind, the crippled and the lame to a great banquet would be a fool waiting his money on those who cannot appreciate the finer things in life. But the kingdom of heaven is nothing like this world.
"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ’Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Corinthian 1:27-31 ESV).
The plan of redemption is the ultimate demonstration of the wisdom of God. While Christ was hanging on the cross, Satan must have been gloating. He thought he had won. He thought he had defeated God. But God was not defeated. Death had no power over Christ. God snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV).
Conclusion
Redemption. It is the story of God’s love. He had you once, in the innocence of your youth. Then he lost you to sin. And now he wants you back. He has secured your redemption through the blood of his Son, Jesus Christ. He has paid a most precious price to redeem you. “All things are ready. Come to the feast”. Will you come to the feast?
